banksy

Very useful: a map of all the best places to cry in public around the city. [Curbed]

Israel’s oldest art school, the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, is moving into a new SANAA-designed campus in Jerusalem. [The Jerusalem Post]

A Takashi Murakami show opens today at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg is a retrospective that spans five decades of the artist’s career, but based on nearly all of the promotion and media attention, you would think the focus of this show is Murakami’s collaborations with Kanye West. Seriously, the way people talk about this makes it seem like Murakami was some obscure unknown that West “discovered” and brought to the masses, rather than an art star he hitched his brand wagon to. Ugh. [Chicago Tribune]

Strange New York story of the day: Laura Murray, a struggling SVA grad who was surviving by drawing portraits of tourists, was mugged in 2012 and drew a sketch of her attacker. The cops caught him based on her drawing, and now she’s pursuing a career as a courtroom artist. [New York Post]

Here’s a comic about the most annoying child of hippies coming to an art opening in San Francisco. [The Bold Italic]

China Guardian is opening a combination art museum/auction house in Beijing. So much for pretending museums and the market weren’t too close for comfort! The building, designed by Büro Ole Scheeren also contains a hotel. [Dezeen]

From Banksy’s ill-conceived print giveaway to Jeremy Deller’s wheatpastes, British artists are responding in all sorts of ways to the upcoming election. Basically, everyone in the art world is hoping to oust Theresa May. Poor Grayson Perry had planned a solo show opening at the Serpentine Gallery on the 8th. Now that’s election day, and his show about post-Brexit identity and division has taken on an added gravity. [artnet News]

New World Design, Flying Pigs on Parade: a Chicago River Folly (2016). Courtesy New World Design.

Yes! Former Washington Post art critic Jessica Dawson is bringing dOGUMENTA to Manhattan this August. The art show is curated with dogs as the intended audience and will be installed outside, hung at doggie-level, and mindful of the limited color spectrum visible to canine eyes. [W]

Chicago architect Jeffrey Roberts of New World Design is planning a Pink Floyd-inspired Trump protest installation and has the band’s blessing. If all permits and fundraising go ahead as planned, it will comprise a series of gold pig balloons anchored to barges in the Chicago River, obstructing Trump’s giant gold name on his tower there. [artnet News]

Looks like the Trump administration has one more post to fill. The White House curator, William Allman, is retiring after 40 years at the residence. [The Art Newspaper]

Banksy’s large Brexit-themed mural in the UK has already been tagged. This story is only of interest because it’s brought the following two sentences to a newspaper: “But thugs armed with spray paint have written the words ‘THE CLASH’ – complete with an anarchist ‘circle A’ symbol on top of it. Whether this is in reference to the punk band whose second album opens with the song ‘Safe European Home’ is unclear.” [EXPRESS]

“Behold the Health Goth Choir That Rules the Art World” is basically the best headline we’ve seen out of Venice this year (or ever). Coincidentally, health goth is Paddy Johnson’s favorite goth subculture! [Observer]

Looks like Courtney will have her work cut out for her: Damien Hirst is being accused of the deadly sin cultural appropriation! Hirst’s epic “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” features dozens of faux-antiquities from a fictional ancient collector’s shipwreck. Among them, knockoff Ife-era sculptures inspired by artifacts from Nigeria are supposedly problematic. Hirst’s exhibition fully credits the sources of his work, so I don’t see what the problem here is. It seems like an example of outrage-bootstrapping to get attention on the part of the “offended”. [CNN]

Oh dear god yes. There’s a scathingly funny (because it’s true) Tumblr devoted to architectural criticism of McMansions. If you’ve ever been nauseated by a relative’s house in the suburbs and not-quite been able to put your finger on the reasons why, this blog outlines it all from mis-matched porticos to ill-proportioned secondary masses and garages that look like they’re eating a plantation. [McMansion Hell]

Alexandra Lange would like us to stop calling the “Lowline” a park. It’s really just an underground room with plants in it. But hey, in the event of nuclear fallout, it sure beats the Highline. [Curbed]

Just how racist, corrupt, and utterly ineffectual at investigating rapes is the Baltimore Police Department? Graphic designers Post Typography illustrate the findings of the Justice Department’s damning report. It’s especially infuriating when one takes into account that “public safety” is where so much of the city’s residents’ tax dollars are going. [Baltimore Brew]

Two men were killed and another wounded when a gunman opened fire following an argument at Prime Development, an art gallery in Oakland, California. [New York Daily News]

Art Basel surveyed participating gallerists about what other careers they would pursue if they weren’t selling art. Most said none, but some would be curators, and one would be an astronaut. [Art Basel]

Miami’s Wynwood arts district is luring back visitors amidst its Zika outbreak by offering bug repellent, free parking, and drink specials during the Second Saturdays art walk. Can we please keep the half-price margaritas going after the virus has been eliminated? [Miami Herald]

And in other overrated-street-art-moneymaking-schemes news, drunks tried to steal a fake Banksy. [artnet News]

“’Dismaland’ is spectacular, but its ideas are not everything you want a candidate for history’s largest work of conceptual art to be.” Dan Brooks argues that sarcasm is the new kitsch—the default tone of the internet and now an unfortunate end unto itself in the production of culture. “As with memes, Banksy asks us to substitute the sensation of recognizing a reference for the frisson of wit.” [The New York Times]

More galleries opened in the Lower East Side than any other neighborhood in 2015. Still, Chelsea is by far the capital of the city’s art scene, contrary to reports of a mass exodus in the face of rising rents. Surprisingly, Bushwick seems to not be living up to its hype as the new art destination: only three new galleries have arrived there this year, less than DUMBO and the Upper East Side. [Crain’s]

Where do famous artists teach? This piece could be handy for art-school-shopping, despite its unfortunate “listicle” format. SVA’s MFA candidates get one-on-one time with Fred Wilson and Marilyn Minter, while Ai Weiwei might be offering courses at Univeristät der Künste Berlin next month. [artnet News]

Does the drama surrounding Anish Kapoor’s “Dirty Corner” never cease? Versailles municipal councilor Fabien Bouglé has filed a complaint against Kapoor in response to the artist’s decision to not remove anti-semetic graffiti from the sculpture. Kapoor’s statement: “I think it’s a wonderful reversal; I’ll see him in court… It shows how insane the whole thing is.” Yes, it is insane. So why won’t he just let them power-wash it? [Artforum]

How many more Pablo Picasso shows can MoMA launch? Normally, isn’t a show that would begin to interest us, (we agree with Hyperallergic’s Benjamin Sutton, who describes Picasso as “the Steven Spielberg of European modernism — flashy, prolific, proficient at a vast range of genres, and overrepresented in the mainstream cultural canon.”) but it seems to be getting good reviews. Sutton says there are a number of surprising and inventive works. Roberta Smith at the Times loves the show so much she called the exhibition art. And then there’s the ridiculously titled Jerry Saltz review, “How Picasso the Sculptor Ruptured Art History”. We haven’t been able to bring ourselves to read that one—he makes the show sound like an injury that occurred during sex—but he clearly likes it. [The Internet]

This is really cool. The Hamabul Art Collective is opening the unofficial “Iranian Embassy in Jerusalem”. The group is made up of Israeli, Persian, and Arab artists who hope to spark dialog by highlighting Iranian art, film, and music in spite of their respective governments’ refusals to engage in diplomatic or economic relations. [The Art Newspaper]

Jane Rosenberg, the artist behind the infamously-bad courtroom sketch of Tom Brady, is now seeking legal action against unauthorized reproductions of the portrait. In the past few weeks, it’s showed up on T-shirts, mugs, and phone cases. If she ends up in a courtroom herself, she should cash in with a self-portrait. [The Boston Globe]

An incredible review by Michael H. Miller on Mike Kelley’s show at Hauser & Wirth. On the glass maquettes of Kandor, the capital city of Krypton, Superman’s home planet, Miller says the work makes him feel incredibly sad. “ Curators and dealers seem to be pushing for Kandor as a major part of Kelley’s legacy—or maybe the work is just easier to get on loan—but either way I find so much of it to be mediocre. “Kandor” seems to me to be the product of a man endlessly tinkering with an idea but never really getting it to arrive anywhere beyond Kelley’s general metaphor of alienation…” [ARTnews]

Wait, so William Gibson wasn’t the first to invent the term “cyberspace”? Nope. According to the recent What’s Happening? exhibition at Statens Museum for Kunst in Denmark, the honour goes to artist Susanne Ussing and architect Carsten Hoff, who collaborated in the late 1960s under the assumed name Atelier Cyberspace. Their work, included in a show focusing on late experimental art from 1965-1975, is fascinating, because their definition of the term is far less dystopian than Gibson’s take, and reveals a curious historical revisioning of the term’s etymology: stemming from early cybernetics, it was more infused with optimism, and concerned with the spatial and sensual. Like Buckminster Fuller meets Whole Foods Catalogue, but still connected to that pressing 1990s AOL chatroom question: “wanna cyber?” [Kunstkritikk]

Richard Rhodes, long-time editor of Canadian Art, is stepping down. Rhodes had been with the publication for over twenty years, and the winter issue will be his last. A search of his successor commences immediately. The announcement signals major masthead shifts within one of Canada’s leading arts magazines: David Balzer, author of the well-received Curationism, returns to the magazine in a new leadership role as Deputy Editor, overseeing all web and digital initiatives. Meanwhile, his Associate Editor replacement, Nicolas Brown, is now Manager of Programming and Education. [The Globe and Mail]

Matthew Collings calls Carsten Höller’s conversion of Anish Kapoor’s Olympic Tower into a gigantic slide an example of spectacular conceptual art trolling: “Besides being stunned by literalism, it’s possible to be struck by Höller’s sadism, his contemporary for the audience with his relational-aesthetic interactive activities, as if he’s a populist for the sake of seeing how far he can debase the populace.” [The Art Newspaper]

Let’s all agree: air shows are horrible. In light of the totally unnecessary tragedy of last weekend’s Shoreham air crash — as well as the horrific fact regarding how common (and unavoidable) air show accidents are — it’s baffling why these spectacles glamorizing the military-industrial complex continue today. [Vice]

This month’s slapstick-worthy art fumble: a 12-year old Taiwanese boy trips in a Taipei museum, and punches a hole in a 350-year-old Paolo Porpora still life, valued at $1.5 million. (Don’t worry — it was insured, and he won’t be charged.) [The Guardian]

I don’t even know where to begin: A scantily-clad young woman who looks just like a porno-anime character thanks to the help of plastic surgery has designed a pair of platform shoes that will help her hack into secure computer systems. Each shoe has a drawer that can be removed without having to remove the shoe itself. Inside is a wireless router, a USB keystroke recorder, a basic lock pick set, and a retractable ethernet cable. Impressive. [Imgur]

Banksy’s Dismaland attracts tons of press in its first weekend open. The mock themeland includes rude staffers who treat visitors to a gruff pat down, funeral theme park games, and art by about 60 artists. True to form, there’s no shortage of dumb art on view—Banksy’s sculpture of a woman being attacked by seagulls seems designed to appeal to 12 year olds—but who knows. Work by Jenny Holzer, David Shrigley and Damien Hirst is on view. Maybe it will be good? [The New York Times]

At least Tommy Lee Jones has come out as a feminist. Men in Black 4evs! [The Telegraph]

It’s officially official—the world has yet another biennial. The inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial will tackle the theme of “The State of the Art of Architecture” (whatever that means). It will take place in October 2015. [ArchDaily]

Read this headline, and weep: “40 Powerful Photos Show Why Banksy Is the Spokesman of Our Generation.” [Arts.Mic]

Another awful, awful headline that will scare you: “Your Car May Be Self-Programmed to Kill You—and 9 More Fun Facts About Self-Driving Vehicles.” [Yahoo! Tech]

Josh Baer suspects that Sotheby’s Rothko lot, sold for $40 million, went to Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton. Perhaps it’s going to Crystal Bridges, the one art museum that uses art to “celebrate the American spirit.” [Baer-Faxt]

Sotheby’s sold a blue angel at its day fair for $4.2 million. [Twitter]

Simon Ostrovsky tours a museum in East Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic, six months after seceding from Ukraine. His first stop, a bombed-out museum in Donetsk. [Vice News]

The Outsider Art Fair moves its dates earlier in the year to January 2015. [Art in America]

This weekend, Twitter raged over an investigative article that wondered why a documentary film on Jeff Koons wasn’t included in the artist’s Whitney retrospective. It wasn’t even included in the gift shop! Let’s face it: this is a non-issue. Museums do not usually include documentaries as part of their visual arts programming. [The Art Newspaper]

Rhizome is in London. Even if you’re not there to attend their off-site programs, the lectures are online. Some lectures have been transcribed for your reading pleasure! Whee! I’m listening to the selfie panel with Amalia Ulman this morning. —Corinna [Rhizome]

Stop venting on Facebook; go to e-flux. This week the non-profit launched “e-flux conversations,” a moderated message board addressing topical issues. So far the best discussion has been Karen Archey on “top female curator” lists. [e-flux]

We might never know what killed Joan Rivers because her daughter has refused an autopsy. Now get back to work. [Gawker]

Solange is throwing an art party during Prospect.3. Bey’s little sis recently relocated to New Orleans. [NOLA]

Painter Wolfgang Hutter died on September 26th. We’re just finding this out now, says artnet News, because he didn’t want the news to be publicized. Maybe he’d read articles like this one. (Also wow these are cool.)

According to the National Report, Graffiti artist Banksy has been arrested in London, revealing the artist’s allusive identity. He is 35-year-old Paul Horner. Several news sites subsequently reported that that story is bogus, and National Report is a site made up of entirely fake news. [Glasstire]

What a really weird interview with Gerhard Richter. Questions include: How does doing drugs affect artistic quality? When did organized religion crumble and why do humans need art as a replacement? Are you depressed that artists now—even you, whom many consider to be the greatest living painter—can’t paint like Titian? [The Wall Street Journal]

The Internet is not dead, but if you pose the question, then you’ll be sure to pique the interest of many an art and tech nerd. In the latest issue of e-flux, artist Hito Steyerl ponders about the death of the Internet and finds that it’s “undead and it’s everywhere.” Like a zombie. [e-flux]

I guess this is what the Russian police do when they’re not beating up gay people. [Youtube]

More on Russia: On Sunday, Performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky nailed down his testicles in the Red Square to protest Russia’s police state. On the one hand, this could just be an instance of WTF Performance Art. More likely, though, it points to the increasingly desperate measures taken by artists against the State; Russian theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov called Pavlensky’s act a “powerful gesture of absolute despair.” Pavlensky is due in court today. [The Guardian]

A warning for non-profits: Make sure you know who the bidders at your fundraising auction. A Banksy painting donated to Housing Works received a bid of $615,000, but the work’s bidder quickly ducked out of sight. The non-profit eventually found a buyer, but not after irking many of the other bidders. [The New York Times]

This is the best seventh-grade fan fiction I’ve ever heard. Ashton Kutcher needs to pay this girl a visit. (Paddy) [Wifey-TV]

The founders of the Dia Art Foundation have filed suit to stop the foundation’s current administration from selling artworks in Dia’s collection.That sale is scheduled to take place this Wednesday at Sotheby’s, and could raise up to $20 million to build an acquisitions fund. [Art in America]

Brian Eno talks with Grayson Perry about art. Both claim to be terrible at delegating. [New Statesman]

Gallerist Janet Borden’s thoughts on the Aperture Foundation’s Instagram auction, held two weeks ago: “Instagram pictures tend to be stupid, but then, so did Xeroxes of people’s butts.” [Matthew Leifheit for Feature Shoot]

Under Bloomberg, New York City has gained its largest homeless population yet. In a 10-page-long report, Ian Frazier wraps his head around the current mayor’s policies and the city’s legal stance on the right to shelter, all set amid interviews with dozens of the city’s homeless. [The New Yorker]

The Chicago Arts Club showcases contemporary art—in private. For the last 100 years, this League of Extraordinary Art Collectors only gave members exhibition-viewing privileges. That is, until artist Josiah McElheny convinced the club to open its doors to the public for his current exhibition there. “I hope that students [go], and get the free lunch and cocktail.” [Chicago Magazine]

From the sounds of it, Ragnar Kjartansson’s Tate commission “Variation on Meat Joy” won’t be as daring as Carolee Schneemann’s original bloody bacchanal. The “new online performance work” will “play with the modernity of an internet performance” by featuring actors dressed in 18th-century costumes, each dining on a steak near microphones that amplify their guttural, chewing sounds. Sure. The work screens online tomorrow night at 8:00 PM in London (or, for many of our readers, 3:00 PM in New York.) [Tate]

A video of Rhizome’s Post-Net Aesthetics panel discussion is now online. [Rhizome]

Ben Davis discusses why “socially engaged art” (SEA) isn’t a useful term for discussing art and activism. It “contribut[es] to confusion rather than clarifying stakes, by creating a hybrid category of art-politics.” [A Blade of Grass]

Just when you think the Banksy media circus can’t get any more absurd, artists Dave Cicirelli, Lance Pilgrim and George Gross sell out a booth of fake Banksys, complete with certificates of “inauthenticity.” This is stencil art. In a particularly aggrandizing statement, Cicirelli notes that their works were exactly the same except that they were fakes and “the public consciousness had changed.” [The Huffington Post, Animal]

An informal survey on fairuse will be the material for an interactive installation that allows people to remix their responses, defend work removed on the grounds of copyright infringement, etc. [Culture Pirate]

A map of where you can find (and steal) all the Banksy graffiti in the city. [Steal Banksy]

New York Magazine has a way of making Baltimore seem a lot more posh than I’ve ever experienced it. [New York Magazine]